What you do before getting ready and going to work matters. It matters that day and over time it makes a huge difference in your health and how you perceive your life.
Take a walk in the morning or exercise outside. If you're like me, you don't wake up ready to do lunges at 6 am but walking is a great alternative and may even lead to some lunging energy. They don't have to start out to be long walks. Even 10 minutes will better your mental and physical health. I used to get up and and get ready for work without enjoying the morning. It was more like dreading it but I started to get myself up early to take a short walk with my partner and our dogs and the quality of my life started to change. I began the day by seeing the open sky and the beautiful New Mexico Sandia Mountains. I'm sure that wherever you live, you will find beauty. I noticed the sky and mountains were different everyday. My dogs appreciated the new routine and Honey Bear became my alarm clock. Sometimes we would walk 15 minutes and sometimes we would walk 45 minutes. No matter how long, it was something we began to love. On the weekends, the walks became longer and we started getting really creative with it. One morning, our family walked 5 miles to breakfast. On vacations, we strive to challenge ourselves. We've walked miles everywhere we've visited to get a unique view of the place. We've walked through neighborhoods on our vacations as well as through the cities, without any special destination in mind. A very memorable experience was walking in Belize. Apparently, the GPS system doesn't work like it should yet - being that they're a developing country. One morning we intended on taking a 3 mile walk to a beach that turned out to be 10 miles away, luckily we were saved by some tourists riding a golf cart. They saved us from more than just walking. Evidently, there were alligators in the swamps along the walk and the heat was gaining intensity. Either way, it was a walking adventure. Just last week, we were going to drive to our local university to walk through their beautiful trees and charming duck pond when we found out that our tire was flat. We ended up just leaving the car at the tire shop and taking a city walk home. The dogs were a little confused but the weather was perfect and they couldn't be happier. I look forward to that daily morning walk and it feels good to have an extra 2,000 steps in before even showing up to work. I'm a fitness trainer and I will say that going to the gym doesn't compare to being out in the open sky to get your first glimpse of the day.
Read an inspiring book. Another thing that I do is read a few pages of something inspiring to me as I sip some coffee in the morning. Even just a few pages of something that nudges your motivation or moves your spirit will help you become more aware of your intentions, goals and values for the day. Over time it's a life changer. I recommend books that inspire you to better your relationships, health, career, spiritual practice. The books that I have read, just a few pages at a time - have helped me in every aspect of my life. I have learned about love languages, habits of successful people, how to tidy up, how to have a still mind and a slow breath, how to enjoy the process and not worry about the outcome.
Meditate. Sitting a few minutes in silence every morning can help you center yourself before going out and interacting with the world. You can't control traffic or meetings but you can learn to control your internal environment and even though there may be chaos all around you - you learn to remain still and calm. If you have kids, then your home is probably not still and calm in the morning but you can "meditate" anywhere. You can just be still, aware and focusing on your breath at a stop light or you can arrive at your office 10 minutes early to enjoy those moments of silence.
No, I don't expect you or myself to do all three of these things every day before going to work. Even though, I have indeed done them all in one morning but that is because I love doing them so much. I look forward to waking up every single day and enjoying the movement of my legs, the stillness of my breath and how much there is to learn in this life.
